1000 Pounds - Elizabeth II Year of the Rooster, Gold Proof

The Royal Mint's Lunar Series II began in 2014, following the commercial success of the first series and timed to compete directly with the Perth Mint's long-established lunar program. This 1 kg piece sits at the apex of that offering — struck in four-nines fine gold at a mintage so restricted that individual pieces were allocated rather than openly sold. The Rooster year ran from January 2017 to February 2018 in the Chinese calendar, making the timing of this issue commercially deliberate rather than incidental.

At 100 mm across, the dies required for this denomination demanded engineering tolerances beyond standard proof production.